Walther von der Vogelweide

1170 - 1230

One of the great poets of his time, Walther’s exact birthplace is disputed though Wurzburg appears to be the most likely contender. His name means “from the bird meadow”.

From a family of minor knights his life was not marked by what you might call constancy.

He seems to have had a habit of falling out (and falling in again) with his various lordly sponsors. And if he fell out with you, you could expect to hear about it in verse.

Being an Emperor (he served Otto IV, Philip of Swabia and Frederick II at various times) or a pope (mots notably Innocent III) would not save you from his barbed wit.

His poetry extolls the virtue of a life in balance and harmony, and those who disturbed his would certainly know about it. Many of his love songs and more political works were set to music and as such he is one of the earlier composers of secular music that we know of.

Here we have Palästinalied set at the time of the 5th crusade. The crusader setting out tells stories from the gospels and asserts that Jerusalem is Christian ahead of the claims of Muslims and Jews: